Timelines that show the trend — not the noise

Visualize trends as timelines and smooth them with SMA or EMA — with a freely chosen window. Projections and moving sums separate the real trend from sampling noise. No export.

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DataLion dashboard with a smoothed timeline across several waves

DataLion shows trends as timelines and smooths them with a moving average (SMA) or an exponentially weighted average (EMA) — with a freely chosen window. Projections add the weighted moving average (WMA), and moving sums separate trend from noise. All right in the tool, with no export.

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  • YouGov
  • SevenOne Media
  • Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland
  • Nielsen Sports
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Smoothing via SMA and EMA

Sampling fluctuations make every wave value jitter. DataLion smooths timelines with a moving average (SMA) or an exponentially weighted average (EMA), which weights more recent waves more heavily — turning noise into a clear trend.

You choose the smoothing window freely: a short window stays close to the raw values, a longer one emphasizes the long-term trend.

  • SMA: moving average across several waves
  • EMA: more recent waves weighted more heavily
  • Freely chosen smoothing window
  • From the short-term signal to the long-term trend
Smoothed timeline with SMA and EMA in DataLion

Projections and moving sums

For projections, DataLion adds the weighted moving average (WMA) alongside SMA and EMA. Moving sums aggregate values over a rolling window — ideal for smoothing short-term spikes and surfacing cumulative effects.

In tracking studies this lets you separate the real trend, seasonal patterns and individual outliers cleanly.

  • Projection with an additional WMA
  • Moving sums over a rolling window
  • Surface cumulative effects
  • Separate trend, season and outliers

Wave after wave, updated automatically

Timelines are the backbone of tracking studies: new waves are imported, the tracker dashboard updates, and the smoothed line keeps growing on its own.

Wave-over-wave change can also be significance-tested — so you know whether a rise is real or lies within the noise.

  • New waves automatically in the timeline
  • Tracker dashboards update themselves
  • Wave-over-wave change significance-tested
  • Consistent definitions across all waves
Tracker dashboard with a smoothed timeline across several waves in DataLion

See DataLion with your own data

Start a free trial or book a personal demo — from raw data to a finished dashboard.

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We now work much more efficiently, giving us more time to take care of the derivations and insights from the data for the customers.
Jens Falkenau, Vice President of Market Research · Nielsen Sports
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Common questions about time series

How does DataLion smooth timelines?
With a moving average (SMA) and an exponentially weighted average (EMA), which weights more recent waves more heavily. The smoothing window is freely chosen — from the short-term signal to the long-term trend.
Does DataLion support projections?
Yes. For projections, DataLion adds the weighted moving average (WMA) alongside SMA and EMA. There are also moving sums over a rolling window.
What is the difference between SMA and EMA?
The SMA weights all waves in the window equally, while the EMA weights more recent waves more heavily and therefore reacts faster to current change. Both reduce sampling noise.
Do timelines update automatically in tracking?
Yes. New waves are imported and the timeline and tracker dashboard update on their own. Wave-over-wave change can be significance-tested.
Do I need to export data?
No. DataLion computes smoothing, projections and moving sums right in the tool on your dataset — without exporting to external statistics software.

Get your trend on track

Try DataLion free: smoothed timelines, projections and moving sums right in the tool — with no export. Or book a personal demo.

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